ABM

Do you guys have as much of a problem with these Canzano remarks as I do?!?

From: Canzano's Article

Excuse me, John, but if there's ANY chance that the Blazers could make the playoffs this season - even the 8th seed - you don't just sit Miles for the sake of sitting and resting him. Do you? To me, that would be absurd. And it seems YOU, if anyone, would/should know that.

Naturally, if there were an "unreasonable" risk of greater injury to Darius, that would be very understandable (to sit him), but me thinks that really isn't what your overall premise was. I'd say it was closer to what this remark reveals..

....and, to me, that remark would seem a bit contradictory to the seeming notion that you've placed potential wins (overall team improvement) over individual player development. Perhaps I'm off-base in that assumption, but I don't think so.

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Dan

thats just John planting another seed ABM. He wants to be able to blame someone else (in addition) to how the season ended. So that, no matter how Miles plays, he can say "look, Miles did it for the betterment of himself, and not the team" etc.

Basically, he's planting the thought that if Miles comes back and scores what he was before and the team struggles (gee, this team struggle?) it'll be obvious that Miles is the reason why the team was bad.

ABM, I implore you, I beseech you, I beg of you, I'm pleading with you, I'm asking you...please stop reading John Canzano's articles! He offers nothing of worth and all he does is poison peoples wells.

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when will the loss of life end?

That Phelps is a fast mother shut your mouth!...just talking 'bout Phelps!

I'd like to say I made this, but I didn't

Ukrainefan

Miles is one of the players that is still developing and one whom the Blazers still need to find out who he is, so Canzano's remarks don't make much sense to me.

Foulzilla

Yep, this was a terrible article by Canzano. It's a shame, I thought maybe it would have some actual information in it about Miles recovery. Yes, I truly am too much of an optimist at times.

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blue32

That guy shouldnt be employed.

MARIS61

Unless we've already decided to trade Miles, it's obvious we need him playing with these guys as soon as he is 100% ready and safe to play.

If it's possible to make it, a round in the playoff's would provide a chance for real development of our players that just can't be replicated in practice or in regular games.

As usual, nothing of value or substance is derived from Clownzano's Californian Cranium.

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RedHot&Rolling

Well slap me upside the head......but......I agree......with Canzano. I think we should sit him, let him heal all the way, not rush him back, and get a better draft choice (i.e. trade commodity). I'm more interested in the future of this team than its present.

I'd really like a top 5 pick to hopefully combine with the Detroit (#30) pick to trade out or way up in this draft. We don't need anymore average players on our team. We need better players. You can draft them, develop them, or sign them. As we're over the cap for a while more, I say we draft them.

Stockpile talent.

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RPCity

He's not talking about "not rushing him back" though RHR.....he's talking about once his knee heals, keep sitting him. Keep him on the sideline in a partial attempt to tank the season.

No one is saying Darius should be rushed back.....that would be foolish. But to bench him the remainder of the season....when he should be ready to play by the All-Star break....that too would be a mistake.

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ProudBFan

IMO, Miles should come back (yes, play some games over the course of the rest of the season) when he is 100%. But he shouldn't look to play the hero. And the Blazers shouldn't cast him in that role, either. They should be looking to re-integrate him with the rest of the team over the remainder of the season with an eye toward next season.

When you have an intact team that is on the road to performing (and the Blazers - minus Miles - are slowly getting there), and then you make any change to that team (adding, subtracting, or swapping even one player), the whole "new" team essentially starts over from square 1 on their path to performing. It's called Tuckman's Model for team development, and it applies to any team, be it business, sports, or whatever. (Incidentally, it's also why some sports teams come on strong at / near the end of the season AND why those that do generally fare better in post-season play.) You can read a little about it for yourself here: http://www.businessballs.com/tuckman...performing.htm

Adding Miles back into the mix, they'll have to re-learn how best to utilize him. Where and when to get him the ball for best effect. What guys he can pick and what guys he can't. What guys he can defend solo vs. needing help. Those kinds of things. And he will have to re-learn how to play with his team-mates as well.

And since Miles IS a key piece of the Blazers' puzzle for the forseeable future, and because there is very little pressure on the team to do anything special this season, they might as well get the re-integration process started as soon as he's 100% ready to go. They might even make a run for the playoffs. But even if they don't, next season's team will be the better for having gotten it out of the way this season.

IMO, anyway.

PBF

EDIT: And just for the record, it seems to me that the Blazers only recently crossed over from "storming" to "norming". They still have a ways to go to get to "performing", IMO. Canzano is talking out his ***... again.

EDIT: Yes, I sent this information to Canzano.

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BBert

If a player is healthy, and he earns playing time, and he makes the team better, you play him, period.

Apparantly ClownZano doesn't realize Miles is part of the team and part of the team's future, whether that be by playing or by trade. The team needs to develop as a team, not with one of it's two best players glued to the bench so lesser players can get more practice. My god, what a concept. Would Stern let the Blazers tank by holding out it's best player in an apparant attempt to get a higher lotto pick? I certainly doubt it. The Lakers or Knicks maybe. Us, never.

I'd like a high draft pick too, and we'll likely get one, but refusing to play a healthy Miles would be suicidal for this team's management and maybe even morale. Anybody think Darius would be OK with that? I certainly don't. And that's exactly why Canzano would suggest it.

Can'tZano's anti Miles agenda could not possibly be more obvious. He's just sewing his crop for a late spring harvest.

Nothing to see here.

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In KP I trust.

BBert

Good post PBF. He needs to integrate with the team this year (when healthy) for next year, not for this year. It's a long-range developmental plan.

Your post reminded me of Ralph Miller's basketball teams, and other teams that start seasons like a well oiled machine then fade in the playoffs as other teams, especially teams with better players to start with, hit their stride. It's good to peak at just the right time. Like your 1977 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers! I can wait a couple years for a shot at that (not that I have much choice).

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In KP I trust.

ProudBFan

Also, while Whitsitt had many faults as a "chemist" and didn't fully appreciate the impact personal character can have on the chemistry of a team, one thing he did understand was the Tuckman Model. It's precisely why you rarely (if ever) saw him make mid-season trades.

And I don't think Nash understands or appreciates the Tuckman Model very well at all. Almost all of his moves have been made mid-season.

PBF

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Dan

the mid-season trades sure hurt the Pistons in 88 and 04.

__________________
A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor and says "Make me one with everything".

when will the loss of life end?

That Phelps is a fast mother shut your mouth!...just talking 'bout Phelps!

I'd like to say I made this, but I didn't

handclap problematic